Just found out how much a single old growth timber could be worth

Honestly, I was watching some show about logging history last night and they said one giant redwood tree from the 1800s could be worth over $50,000 today just for the lumber. That's wild to me. They showed a photo of a single log being hauled by a whole team of oxen. It got me thinking about all the old barn wood and beams we pull out on demo jobs. Has anyone here ever worked with reclaimed wood that turned out to be way more special than you thought?

3 comments

3 Comments

blake4323mo ago

But is it worth cutting them down?

grant.margaret3mo ago

Cutting them down is always worth it.

wood.zara15d ago

I was about to say the same thing about the barn wood angle... A guy I know got a call to demo an old dairy barn and found out the beams were first growth white oak. That stuff is super dense and has this tight grain you just don't see in new lumber. The homeowner almost had it chipped up for mulch until my friend stopped him. That wood ended up going to a furniture maker who paid a lot more than the demo fee. It's easy to overlook what's hiding in plain sight.